wildfire

[wahyld-fahy^uhr]

noun

1. any large fire in brush, forests, or open spaces that spreads rapidly and is hard to extinguish.

2. a highly flammable composition, such as Greek fire, difficult to extinguish when ignited, formerly used in warfare.

3. sheet lightning, unaccompanied by thunder.

4. the ignis fatuus or a similar light.

5. Plant Pathology.,  a disease of tobacco and soybeans, characterized by brown, necrotic spots, each surrounded by a yellow band, on the leaves and caused by the bacterium Pseudomonas tabaci.

6. Pathology Obsolete.,  erysipelas or some similar disease.

wildfire

/ ˈwaɪldˌfaɪə /

noun

1. a highly flammable material, such as Greek fire, formerly used in warfare

2. 1. a raging and uncontrollable fire

   2. anything that is disseminated quickly (esp in the phrase spread like wildfire )

3. lightning without audible thunder

4. another name for will-o'-the-wisp

Word History and Origins

Origin of wildfire¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English wildefire, Old English wildfȳr; equivalent to wild + fire

Idioms and Phrases

see spread like wildfire.

Example Sentences

“We don’t have a lot of natural disasters. We get cold and we get snow, but we don’t experience hurricanes or earthquakes or tornadoes or wildfires,” Burnham said.

Read more on MarketWatch

The state’s current approach, laid out by a panel of independent scientists working with California’s wildfire task force, is three-pronged.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

A multi-agency meeting will be held in the Highlands later to look at the devastating impact of recent wildfires in Scotland.

Read more on BBC

Prison fire crews are a significant part of the state’s effort to battle wildfires.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

However, there is a growing consensus that climate change has heightened wildfire risks, as evidenced by a growing number of catastrophic blazes California has suffered over the last decade.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• blaze 
• conflagration 
• flare 
• flash 
• light 
• spark